A Pharaoh’s 3,000-Year-Old Bracelet Was Allegedly Stolen by a Museum Employee and Melted Down for Gold By Toria Sheffield 10

A 3,000-year-old bracelet was allegedly stolen from a museum in Egypt and then melted down for gold.

The bracelet was allegedly stolen from the Egyptian Museum in Cairo by a restoration specialist on Sept. 9, according to Egypt’s Ministry of Tourism and Antiquities, per the BBC.

The restoration specialist is believed to have contacted a silver jeweler, who then sold the bracelet to a gold jeweler for $3,735, according to the outlet. The gold jeweler sold the bracelet for $4,025 to a gold foundry worker, who melted it down with other pieces. The ministry stated that the four people involved confessed to their alleged crimes after being arrested, per the BBC.  

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PEOPLE reached out to the Egyptian National Police, as well as Egypt’s Ministry of Tourism and Antiquities, for comment on Thursday, Sept. 18, but did not receive an immediate response.

Prior to news of the recent arrests, the Ministry had posted about the missing bracelet in a statement shared on Facebook on Tuesday, Sept. 16. 

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The Ministry stated that images of the bracelet had been shared with “antiquities units across all Egyptian airports, seaports, and land border crossings nationwide” in an effort to prevent smuggling attempts.

They also stated that they had delayed informing the public about the alleged theft in order to “ensure […] the progress of the investigation.”

The Ministry added that the bracelet had belonged to “King Amenemope from the Third Intermediate Period.”

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Amenemope was “a little-known but intriguing sovereign of Egypt’s 21st Dynasty,” ruling from  1001–992 B.C., per the Egyptian Museum’s website. 

He is perhaps best known for the “splendid funerary mask” found in his tomb, which was fashioned from “thick sheets of hammered gold” and was “crafted to immortalize the features of the king with idealized serenity and timeless radiance.”